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Saturday, December 30, 2017

If you ever ask yourself, what am I going to do with all these scraps, under paper, mistake pieces, unwanted scrapbook papers, and just random stuff, you don't need to wonder anymore...make a junk journal!

I've been drooling over the idea of a junk journal for sometime now but haven't had the chance to actually make one. I finally started this week.

*Check out my pile of "junk":

Photos of the finished signatures & some inside pages:

Since this is my first attempt, I wanted to make it pretty simple. I collected a good size amount of papers and then folded them in half. I have one of those long reach staples so I stapled the center seam & folded to create the signatures. I'm not sure if I'll put them under one cover as a large journal or use them individually. I guess I'll figure it out as I go.

So now what? I plan on using this for castoff photos. I always print so many and not all of them end up in the scrapbook. So instead of keeping them in the photo envelope, I'll create fun & funky pages using them. Keep a look out...I'm sure many of these pages will be posted soon...

If you are interested in making a junk journal, I suggest you start collecting papers first so when you're ready, you'll already have a good variation of "junk". I also recommend that you watch some Youtube videos first. There are so many and they all seem a little bit different. Each with great ideas on binding, embellishing, etc. I am happy that I did some research first. Why recreate the wheel?

I'm not sure if this qualifies as "use your paper" since these papers are mostly junk, but I did make sure to put in scrap papers and ugly papers in the journal too.

Friday, December 29, 2017

This week I'm thankful for homemade Christmases. I am a part of a talented family. Every holiday we get to see the best in everyone's abilities.

Here are my contributions this year:

I have to admit, I didn't come up with the idea, it was on Design Space, but I did add my own spin on things. We placed the village behind all the lighted building on our side table.

DD has wanted me to make her a t-shirt quilt for years. I almost did it last year (cut out the squares & backing) but didn't get a chance to finish. Since she went to Disneyworld for four days, I decided to put it together. I made a rag quilt so it will come together quickly. Since the seams need to be wider, it's smaller than I hoped, but perfect for a lap quilt. She was so surprised!

On Christmas Day more handmade gifts were given. Sugar scrubs, candles, quilt, essence oil sprays and lots of baked goods!

Thursday, December 28, 2017

Can you believe it? 2017 is almost over! What are your artsy resolutions/goals? Mine? Get organized. HA!

Well now is the perfect time to look at what you need to keep you organized. Fun Stampers Journey FSJ is having a storage/organization sale this month. 20% off all their totes, bags and tins. Check out their items by going to the Fun Stampers Journey site. Be sure to search for your favorite consultant, me, Dorlene Durham and order from my online store. I'm getting some of those tins for sure!

Now in all seriousness, my sister-in-law is losing her battle with ovarian cancer. She's too young and she's not ready. We're not ready to lose her. We're spending as much time as we can with her but it's really hard on all of us. She's no longer in a conscience state so we just hold our conversations around her with her favorite Kool & The Gang music in the background. She still has the dance in her as she slowly moves her shoulders to the music. It's great to see but still hard to watch. Yesterday, their church pastor came in and prayed with us and gave words of encouragement. It's only a matter of time.

I am thankful with a house full of loved ones, I had some alone time with her. She smiled and held my hand at all the right times so I know she understood what I was saying.

Say a prayer for my sister-in-law, Beverly and her husband. It's so hard on him and their sons. We pray, we cry and then we laugh as we remember stories.

I know people say this all the time, but life is too precious and short to hold grudges and not speak to loved ones. Get on the phone, get in your car, whatever it takes to spend time with friends and family. You just never know when it'll be the last time.

2017 was a great year for our household - I won't complain. We just hope that Auntie Bo leaves us in peace!

Monday, December 18, 2017

We are having a cubicle decorating contest again at work. It took awhile for everyone to start decorating, but wow...when we decided to start, we went ALL OUT! A lot of these cubicles are lighted but it's hard to tell in these photos.

Christmas in Whoville...

The Grinch's Lair...

Santa Please Stop Here...

All Aboard the Patterson Polar Express...

The Reason for the Season...

And just some more decorations:

Don't you love it! Which is your favorite? Whoville and the Grinch's Lair won for best decorated. We had a lot of fun! Tis the Season!

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Inspired by This post by Alisa Burke (love her!), I decided to paint my own wrapping paper. I received a package at work and the box was full of folded newsprint paper. Now, normally I place these in our recycling box at work because they always come scrunched up and even torn. But this time it was like someone was telling me to do something with these! I saw a post earlier and loved it, but wasn't something I'd consider doing, until I received this package.

We set up a table in our spare room and I started painting. I loved her floral prints and knew I could make them into Christmas/holiday themed papers so I started with that. I used my fingers for the most part and two of these sheets are my clean off sheets.

If my back wasn't hurting, I probably would have done this all day. So fun! These sheets are probably 2x4 feet each. I can't wait to wrap gifts!

Friday, December 15, 2017

Reindeer, reindeer, reindeer! I have reindeer on my mind! The challenge the month at the Creative With Stamps (CWS) site is reindeer. Coincidence...I think not.

The reindeer line up stamp is an old Stampin Up stamp. I love this set. I used watercolor pencils to add light colors to the stamp. The rest was using some scrap papers, twine and a poinsettia flower I just purchased from Hobby Lobby.

Click on over to join the challenge for your chance to win a prize. I made my first reindeer card HERE but decided to make another reindeer inspired card for a MID MONTH inspiration.

I hope you join the challenge this month (and future months). I do find that when I join challenges, I use products that I either forgot I had or don't get to use very often. Hey, better yet, an excuse to purchase new items! Whichever makes you happier. LOL

Today is Friday so it's also TGIF; Thankful Friday #22.

This week I'm thankful for tiny Christmas lights. I love how those little tiny things can come together and make everything festive. I love seeing Christmas decorations on houses, in stores, businesses, and homes.

This is a scheduled post since I'm spending most of the day at the hospital. Time for another surgery for DS1. These are a regular part of his life since he's been a toddler but they are still a little worrisome and definitely tiring for all. We are in a new hospital today...long story...but it's all good.

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

My desk is a mess! I just cleaned it after I completed the wedding album and it was so clean and lots of room to work and then the next project happened! We're having a cubicle decorating contest at work again this year and everyone is getting into it! To see posts from last year, click HERE.

Here's mine:

I had one large piece of cardboard left over from when I made the Eiffel Tower (HERE) so I thought I'd make this cute car. I normally cannot draw a thing, but this car was super easy. The driver & passengers are cut with my Circuit using the Doodlecharms cartridge.

Most of the items on my desk are either scraps from those cuts or items I used to weigh the cuts down. Instead of using my expensive scrapbooking paper, I used some inexpensive white papers and painted the colors in before layering them together.

Click on over to the Stamping Ground to read more about WOYWW and to check out the other desks. Join in and show us a picture of your work desk too.

I'll post photos of my coworker's designs later. There are some people who are still working on theirs.

The 2017 12 Days of Christmas Tags is over and I hope you had a chance to comment each day for your chance to win a set of one each of the twelve tags. There were 21 names entered in the random name selector and the winner is...Sharon Madson!

Monday, December 11, 2017

I am done with DS3's wedding album and I LOVE how it turned out! I had so much fun putting this together and used all kinds of flip flaps, pocket pages & standard 12x12 layouts. I entered some sketch challenges to get this album completed too. This album is so interactive and fun.

I was going to wait and give it to the newlyweds for Christmas but I was too excited and gave it to them this past weekend. It was awesome to watch them go through it.

Here's my flip through...enjoy!

Sorry for my horrible video skills. I don't do them often enough to justify a tripod, but I probably should look into one. smile
Flip Flaps: Close To My Heart (CTMH)
Cricut Cartridges Used: Indie Art, Storybook, Artbooking, Groovy Times, Tie the Knot and I also took advantage of some free cuts on Design Space

Friday, December 8, 2017

The final tag of the series is here! I actually got a request for these tags (before I made them) so I figured, since I'm making some for my customer, I may as well use these as my last tag of this series.

I love the Create-a-Critter (1 & 2) cartridges. They are full of super cute images. This reindeer is from the first cartridge. I cut him at 3 1/2" tall. I used an embossing folder to create the little dots on them - just a little extra texture.

This is your last chance to leave a comment on this post and the previous eleven tag posts. For each comment, that will earn an entry into my giveaway. The giveaway will be tomorrow afternoon using a random name selector. Be sure to become a follower, leave lots of comments and stay tuned for the winner announcement.

Since today is Friday, I also want to post my TGIF; Thankful Friday #21.

This week I am thankful for my sisters. I'm sure I mentioned it before, but I am blessed with amazing sisters. Each of us are so different, yet the same. Believe me, it's a thin line between love and hate sometimes, but love always wins in the end. My sister hurt herself very badly and we all rallied to go help her. I know she appreciated the support and it's just something we do. So this week, I'm thankful for my sisters - my forever friends!

I'm so excited to be the Guest Designer on the Stick It Down (SID) sketch site. Click on over to see the current sketches and join the fun.

Here is the 2-page sketch for December:

Gosh, isn't it just beautiful? I love those flowers under & around the photos. I knew I wasn't going to be able to match that with paper. I just happened to watch a YouTube video on watercolor roses (great timing) and I thought I'm going to give it a try.

Here's my layout:

After selecting & trimming the photos, I placed pencil marks on the white cardstock so I would know where to concentrate on embellishing. Then I went to town on creating a background. I love mixed media but never tried it on a scrapbooking layout. I love the way it turned out! That's why I love sketches & challenges. It sure is a way to work outside your comfort zone and push you to do things you wouldn't normally do.

I started with the water colored roses - hated it - so I added more water to my brush and & tried to blend them more. Yup...love! I pulled out my mixed media supplies and added marks all over the pages. Items used: stamps, ink pads (red, gold, black & white), black glimmer mist, gold color silk, pencil, ink pen and water color paint. I wrote the title (eh, don't love or hate) with a Crayola paint brush.

Click on over to the SID site to see the write up, sketches and DT inspiration. I hope you join in too. An earlier post on their site indicated that they don't get many 2-page layout entries...won't you join me this month?

Thursday, December 7, 2017

This is a simple tag using a 1.75 x 3.5 base then adding a piece of patterned paper. I stamped images and punched with 1.25" circle punch. Then punched a layered circle & scalloped circle to complete the embellishment. I also stamped the "To/From" stamp & cut the rectangle. Basically layered everything and added the string at the top.

Pretty simple and pretty cute!

Don't forget to become a follower and leave a comment to earn an entry for the 12 tag giveaway at the end of this series. Each day you comment, you earn another entry. Go back to the previous post before the 12th tag post. Good luck!

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Happy, happy WOYWW! Can you believe we only have two more WOYWW until Christmas? I love peeking into craft rooms and work desk from all over. If you want to learn more about WOYWW, click on over to the Stamping Ground and visit Julia.

I'm cranking out Christmas tags for my 12 Days of Christmas Tags series. These might be my favorite tags so far! I saw these on Pinterest and since I have tons of these coffee sleeves & love upcycling things, I had to make them. They are amazing in person and are so quick & easy to make.

Wouldn't these be great for a coffee loving friend?

To make these, open up the coffee sleeve and remove the "ends" at the perforation. Cut off the "STARBUCKS" name and cut slits through the mermaid according to the photo. I inked up the edges in green ink before adhering them to a painted cardboard trunk. The trunk was cut from a heavier scrap of cardboard. I cut the stars with leftover pieces of the coffee sleeves and then glued glitter all over them. I punched a hole & attached the baker's twine before gluing the strips to the trunk. I added a little Sparkle Silk all over for additional shine (glitter mist or glitter will give you the same effect).

GIVEAWAY become a follower of my blog and leave a comment to be entered into the drawing. At the end of the 12 days, I will draw a random winner. Winner will receive one set of all twelve gift tags. Comment each day to increase your chances. Each comment gets one entry. Good luck!

And don't forget to click on over to the Stamping Ground blog for more WOYWW fun.

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Have I told you how much I love Design Space by Cricut? I found these deer head images and uploaded them into my account on Design Space. No need to purchase an entire wilderness themed cartridge when I only want one image. It's so much cheaper in the long run. LOVE IT!

So, here are my tags for Day Nine!

Adorable, right?

Here's a close up:

With the exception of the deer heads, these tags were made from scraps. I found a 4x12 piece of tan cardstock and cut them into 2x4 strips. Then I cut & adhered paper scraps from a 6x6 pad I used last year for Christmas. The December 25 embellishments were stamped on a white piece of cardstock & the circles were punched from a Starbucks coffee sleeve.

Be sure to become a follower of my blog, comment to my post (go back and comment from Day One forward) for an entry in the tags GIVEAWAY. At the end of the 12 days series, one random commenter will win one of each 12 tags! Each comment will earn you an entry. Good luck!